Nokia is asking users for patent ideas

Despite being in bed with Microsoft to build future products, it seems Nokia is sniffing around everywhere it can to help it find ideas to develop a decent smartphone.

In the wake of tumbling to potential irrelevance in the smartphone market, the Finnish company has launched an 'Invent With Nokia' programme to get ideas by crowd sourcing the great unwashed.

Anyone can sign up and register their ideas at the Invent With Nokia web site if they think they have an idea, any idea, that can be submitted for the Nokia product design team to look into.

But Nokia isn't just looking at potential patent ideas for future kit, the company also wants the public's ideas about anything Nokia can do to get itself out of the downwards spiral it's in. That means Nokia will look at ideas for products, services and other ways to get the once mighty mobile phone maker back on its feet.

Good ideas will be discussed under a non-disclosure agreement and, if the idea is taken onboard and patented for use in future devices, Nokia might give you some cash for the patent. If it's successful with punters Nokia might splash out even more cash for you.

But that would be nothing were it without the chance to enter Nokia's inventors' hall of fame.

"In addition to the monetary rewards, you'll also take your place in a hall of fame, giving you public recognition for your invention so everybody will know who you are," wrote Nokia in a blog post.

To avoid sounding too desperate, Nokia also said it already has thousands of its own people busy innovating. µ